Noises Off
The Lowry
A play within a play performed across three acts, Michael Frayn’s Noises Off is the original “goes wrong” play. Following the on and off stage antics of a touring theatre company as they perform ‘Nothing On’, Frayn’s work is timeless and this latest touring production directed by Lindsay Posner is brilliantly bad.
The show begins with the cast of ‘Nothing On’ completing a final rehearsal before opening night. The cast are woefully underprepared; Dotty (Liza Goddard) is constantly getting lines wrong and misplacing sardines, Frederick (Simon Coates) keeps finding plot holes, and Brooke (Lisa Ambalavanar) is not only extremely inexperienced but has an uncanny ability to lose contact lenses. This first act gives the audience the opportunity to see half of ‘Nothing On’, before act two details a completely disastrous matinee performance of the show. The entire second act takes place backstage as jealous lovers and cast tensions bubble over into the performance. Finally, the third act shows the catastrophic final performance where those members of the cast who haven’t completely given up attempt to ad-lib their way through the show with varying degrees of success.
Noises off is the definition of an ensemble production; the slapstick and physical comedy only works if every single member of the cast and crew is perfectly in sync with one other. This is fact paced, detail orientated comedy, where everything from a slammed door to the positioning of a cardboard box has to be meticulously timed. The cast within this production made these intricacies and the purposeful mistakes of the play look effortlessly easy.
Singling out any one member of the cast feels unwarranted, as each cast member delivered an outstanding performance that was only possible because of their acting counterparts. Having said that, Olivier award winning Matthew Kelly as Selsdon Mowray and Simon Shepherd as director Lloyd Dallas each gave beautifully nuanced performances, whilst Dan Fredenburgh as Garry Lejeune quite literally threw himself around the stage with great aplomb.
Simon Higlett has designed an impressive two-storey set for Noises Off. Whilst the mansion house setting for act one and three are impressive, the real charm is when the set is turned around for act two and we are treated to the backstage elements. Providing the backdrop for the minimal dialogue that appears in the second act, the staging brilliantly enhances the action. As the curtain falls on the Nothing On production, we’re able to see the curtain come down through the windows of the set, as though there is another theatre and stage on the reverse. This attention to detail is a beautiful touch.
This show truly is “all about doors and sardines”, and is one we will happily watch again and again. Transcending laugh out loud funny, Noises Off is a chaotic masterpiece of farce which will leave you aching from laughing.
Noises Off is on at The Lowry until 21st October and touring across the UK into 2024. For more details of the tour, visit the Noises Off website.
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